(formerly Housing Authority of Portland)
135 SW Ash Street
Portland, OR  97204
(503) 802-8455
Fax: (503) 802-2312
www.homeforward.org

AGENCY INFORMATION
Steve Rudman, Executive Director
Shelley Marchesi, Director, Public Affairs
Dianne Quast, Director, Real Estate Operations
Jill Riddle, Director, Rent Assistance
Total Number of Staff:  280
Area Served: Multnomah County
Year Incorporated: 1941

Number of Public Housing Units: 2,500
Number of Affordable Housing Units: 3,700

MISSION

Home Forward’s mission is to assure that the people of the community are sheltered. Home Forward has a special responsibility to those who encounter barriers to housing because of income, disability or special need. Home Forward will continue to promote, operate and develop affordable housing that engenders stability, self-sufficiency, self-respect and pride in its residents and represents a long-term community asset. Home Forward will be a community leader to create public commitment, policy and funding to preserve and develop affordable housing.

WHO WE SERVE

• Home Forward is dedicated to providing safe, decent and affordable housing for individuals and families who are challenged by income, disability or special need. A public corporation, Home Forward serves all of Multnomah County, including the cities of Gresham, Fairview, and Troutdale and other East County communities. We are governed by a nine-member citizen commission, which ensures our continued accountability to the interests of the community.
• As the largest affordable housing provider in Oregon, with services and support that go beyond shelter, Home Forward serves more than 15,000 households and 33,000 residents and gives them a way to rise above adversity.  In addition to its apartments, Home Forward provides a variety of types of rent assistance, including Section 8.
• In 2010, Home Forward developed a new strategic plan to guide the agency over the next several years. Under the last strategic plan, which was launched in 2002, the agency increased the number of households it serves, promoted economic opportunity, supported a range of community initiatives, embarked on an effort to preserve its public housing, improved organizational effectiveness, and built its financial strength. Home Forward’s new strategic directions call for the organization to align housing resources with the efforts of community partners on behalf of priority populations, cultivate partnerships for the delivery of services that extend beyond Home Forward’s core resident services, strengthen relationships with its residents and program participants, and leverage its strengths to further local and regional housing goals.